Barrett FreemanThe Ole Miss rifle team continued to make history this weekend, putting on a stellar performance at the GARC Championship and earning a spot in the NCAA Rifle Championship for the first time in 15 years.
The GARC competed virtually this season, giving the Rebels the opportunity to play their last match at home and honor seniors, Emily Cock, Sophia Cuozzo and Kamilla Kisch while they performed.
On the first day of competition on Saturday, the team fired a smallbore score of 2,319 that landed them in fifth- place overall. Freshman Lea Horvath led the way with a score of 584, followed by sophomore Kristin Derting with a score of 583. Junior Erin Walsh posted a score of 574, and senior Abby Buesseler fired a total of 575.
After the initial smallbore round, the Rebels competed in the final round. Junior Jillian Zakrzeski led the way with a score of 460.7. Following behind her was Horvath, as she took the silver after posting a total of 458.0. To round out the Rebels was Walsh with a score of 442.5.
On Sunday, the Rebels showed out with a huge air rifle performance that placed them second in the category overall. The scores were enough to leap them ahead in the final standings for the GARC Championship at fourth place. Horvath led the team with an individual score of 597 in air rifle and a 1,181 aggregate score, earning herself sixth overall amongst all competitors. Freshman Martina Gratz followed with a score of 592. Loosely behind her was Derting and Walsh, with scores of 591 and 590, respectively.
“I’d like to thank my teammates, past and current,” Kisch said as she reflected on her time as Rebel on Twitter. “I’m so thankful that I was able to be your teammate, you had such a positive impact on my life, I love you.”
The team will travel to Columbus, Ohio on March 12-13 to compete on the national stage for the 2021 NCAA Rifle Championship.
